Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives can yell all they want, but these facts are on the record. They absolutely did this to a serving vet, to someone who had suffered greatly on behalf of Canada.
We asked a government policy person who came to the briefing that night why the decision was made not to go back to 2006 when this clawback was first initiated. Again, this is a clawback from disabled and injured vets. Rather than start it in 2012, why did the government not go back to 2006? What is the policy basis for this? He said it was a political decision.
Now, the current government has spent tens of millions of dollars in court fighting veterans on this very issue. That is absolutely a fact. The government spent taxpayer money fighting Canadian veterans. However, for the compensation to go back to 2006 would have cost about the equivalent of what the Conservatives have spent in court fighting disabled vets. That is the fact; that is the reality.
The ombudsman was correct in his interpretation of the law; in terms of justice for our vets, we will listen to the veterans every single time.